What’s going on?

Dear editor:

Election year politics are destroying our nation. The poorest will suffer the most! When small businesses are shut down by COVID-19 or rioting protesters, local, state and federal taxes are lost. Taxes that fund so many things, including HUD housing rentals, free medical care for the poor, food assistance for underfunded, unemployed people once called food stamps, Link Cards, and SNAP, etc.

Small businesses are famous for their charitable donations and support of food banks, shelters, food for children, and other help in so many ways for the people of their community.

Instead of thanks, they are financially under attack by the government listening to one or two “experts.” If fresh air and vitamin D from the sun fight viruses and more, what’s going on? We cannot shut down and shut-in forever.

On the news today, China is now battling swine flu again! I have seen for years scenes from China with full streets of people wearing masks. We have suffered through swine flu, H1N1, bird flu, avian flu, Ebola, Zika, and now COVID-19.

Owners of small and big businesses are also suffering the violent destruction of their life’s work and dreams in many cities. The people that live in these neighborhoods will have to travel far or do without products and services. Citizens have lost so much! Neighborhoods have lost banks, gas stations, auto repair, low-income housing, restaurants of all types, barber and beauty shops, electronic and phone stores, nail salons, day care places, bars and liquor stores, medical clinics, gyms, grocery stores, clothing stores, jewelry stores, sports stores, movie theaters, drugstores, etc. Big cities will become ghost towns ruled and ruined by violence. Whole neighborhoods’ buildings are boarded up. Beautiful cities become ugly overnight.

I have seen it and I have lived it. When I left Chicago, the population was over 8 million people. Last check a couple of years ago, it was 2.4 million. That is New York City’s future. When businesses leave, jobs leave, and working taxpayers leave, America loses.

People are trying so hard to get here. They want to be Americans. They are from around the world and take great risks to get here. As a friend recently said to me, “If the U.S.A. is so bad, why are so many people from around the world trying to get here?”

Paula Woodman Hot Springs